US Sen. Tammy Baldwin on Health Care and The National Guard

Zac Schultz:
It’s been two months since Donald Trump signed into law his “big, beautiful bill.” And while the cuts to Medicaid included in the bill don’t take effect until 2027, Democrats are already sounding the alarm on the overall impact. Joining us now is U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin. Thanks for joining us.

Tammy Baldwin:
Thanks for having me.

Zac Schultz:
So you’ve been touring the state to talk with providers and patients about these cuts. What are you hearing?

Tammy Baldwin:
Well, I’ve been visiting critical access hospitals in rural areas of the state. Their margins were thin to begin with before the passage of this. Now they’re looking at heartbreaking decisions about, perhaps, closing off certain departments because they are not profitable, and to help them stay afloat. And some, we know, in Wisconsin will be looking at shutting their doors. Particularly troublesome is the decision some hospitals have made to stop having obstetrics delivery, meaning that there are places in Wisconsin where women have to travel literally hours to get the services they need. And it’s harming the health and well-being of Wisconsinites. That’s just one small example. You know, there were big nutrition cuts in the bill. And so visiting food pantries and those who are focused on food security and recognizing the impact that those cuts are going to have. And we also deal with an issue of the premium tax credits for Affordable Care Act health coverage. Those will end at the end of this year, and we’re going to see those impacts almost immediately. All of us are going to pay more. And what’s so ironic, you know, this is Trump’s signature legislation. He came into office vowing to lower costs on everything, right? Groceries, health care, etc. This bill that has just passed, which is predominantly tax legislation benefiting large corporations and the very richest, it’s going to bring costs up for everyone and especially health care costs.

Zac Schultz:
Republicans claim the bill only creates work requirements for Medicaid. It doesn’t push anybody off.

Tammy Baldwin:
You can’t cut $1 trillion out of Medicaid over ten years without kicking people off who are eligible. And that’s what we’re going to see happening. But again, the Affordable Care Act tax credits expire at the end of this year. We’re going to see a lot of Wisconsinites losing access to private insurance through the health care marketplace much sooner than the impacts of the Medicaid cuts.

Zac Schultz:
Now, yesterday, we saw the Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert Kennedy, RFK, Jr. testify before a Senate committee about his decision to fire the CDC director, among other things, that he’s done. There’s a growing list of Democrats and organizations calling for him to be fired or resign. Are you on that list?

Tammy Baldwin:
I am among them. I call on him to resign. Look, between his massive layoffs, mass firings, and his refusal to administer grants that he’s required to by law, and the cutting off of biomedical research and his choice to put his own personal politics on vaccines above science is literally endangering the health of Wisconsinites who I represent. And I would not only call on him to resign, but I’d call on my Republican counterparts, many of whom got assurances directly from RFK, Jr. that he would not put his own conspiracy theories ahead of rock-solid science as he’s doing. And they feel betrayed, I think, by RFK, Jr. And I hope they’ll stand up with me calling on him to resign.

Zac Schultz:
Speaking of vaccines, we saw Florida announce they’re moving to eliminate vaccine requirements. We have a measles outbreak in Oconto County in Wisconsin. How do you draw the line between vaccine mandates or requirements and personal health care choices that some people make of whether or not to vaccinate themselves or their children?

Tammy Baldwin:
Well, first of all, I feel that it would be incredibly unwise to start having a patchwork quilt of state regulations on these. We need to follow the science, and there is rock solid science that like the measles vaccine work and they prevent outbreaks like we’ve seen not only in Wisconsin but in Texas, where two children have died unnecessarily. And so I think that these decisions do have to be made by parents in consultation with their doctors. But science needs to be in the lead here. And RFK, Jr. has spent his career prior to getting nominated as Health and Human Services secretary, peddling in these conspiracy theories about vaccines. And so it’s very dangerous to have him at the helm right now.

Zac Schultz:
Switching from health care. Earlier this week, the president of the Milwaukee Police Union said he’d be okay with Donald Trump deploying National Guard troops to Milwaukee. Two Republicans running for governor of Wisconsin have joined that call. Would you support troops in Milwaukee?

Tammy Baldwin:
Look, what I support is safety and cracking down on crime. And I think that, you know, the National Guard are totally unsuited. They sign up for guard duty because of a different mission entirely. And we should be spending those resources helping cities like Milwaukee or other communities have the adequate policing staff that they need.

Zac Schultz:
There are a lot of Democratic voters around the state that are frustrated with Democrats in Washington saying they haven’t done enough to stand up to Donald Trump. What would you tell them? What, what is being done that maybe they aren’t seeing? Or is there more that could be done?

Tammy Baldwin:
Look, I think that we have seen in this president somebody who is willing to violate the Constitution, violate the law, and where the president is breaking the law and violating the Constitution, we’re bringing this up in court. And frankly, we’re winning a lot of those cases. The justice system is working in many of these instances. And then lastly, it’s us standing with our constituents and fighting back through, through, you know, preparing for elections in the ballot box, but also to stand up as citizens and speak out against the overreaches and abuses.

Zac Schultz:
All right. Senator Tammy Baldwin, thanks for your time.

Tammy Baldwin:
Thank you.